$4.4 billion pledged for humanitarian aid to Syrians

The EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini called for re-launch of Geneva peace talks on Syria as the way out of the crisis, putting end to the protracted conflict, during press-conference on Syria in Brussels. Assessing the outcome of the meeting she reminded about recent international tensions related to allegations of Syrian governmental use of chemical weapons.”Nobody expected breakthrough” she said, explaining the aims of the the II Conference on Syria (#SyriaConf2018) taking place in Brussels on 24-25 of April as a humanitarian assistance endeavour. She also insisted that there is no military solution to Syrian conflict, adding that current event brought different parties at the table “respectfully” listening to each other, which is a step in a right direction.

“The United Nations and our humanitarian partners deliver life-saving assistance and protection to 7.5 million people every month in #Syria. We will continue to try and reach more people in need” – under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said during press-conference in Brussels. He thanked Germany, as the major donor, the EU, the UK of “exceptionally large” pledges, insuring that this “money will make a difference to people”.

Best guess is $4.4 billion pledged today to help people in #Syria and region. It’s a good start. Until appeal is fully funded we must prioritize available resources to help the most vulnerable

The UN special Envoy Staffan de Misturarepeatedly through his intervention called on major players in the region to make their contributions to the cause of peace and allow humanitarian efforts Syria to prepare the ground for a political negotiated solution to end the war, which has already claimed lives of more than half a million Syrian, and left millions homeless.

The UN Envoy also suggested more efforts should be done to enlarge the participation in Astana talks, promoted by Russia, Iran, and Turkey, focusing on ceasefire and creation of de-escalation zones.

However De Mistura put a special accent on a political de-escalation among major foreign players in the region, which is a necessary context to ensure military de-escalation. He regretted recent international tensions as detrimental to the cause of peace in Syria.